Blur Drummer Dave Rowntree Explains His Political Candidacy

Can playing rhythmic backbone in a band that includes the dueling egos of Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon prepare someone to hold public office? So far, the British voting public has not found this to be the case. In 2007 and 2008, Blur drummer Dave Rowntree ran for seats on the Westminster City Council. He lost both times.

Rowntree is running as the Labour Party candidate for the Cities of London and Westminster seat in the British Parliament's House of Commons. In the BBC's words, the area is "considered a safe Tory seat," so Rowntree's got his work cut out for him. His platform revolves around housing. He tells the BBC, "The biggest issue in Westminster is housing. It is a particular concern of mine because it sits at the top of a pyramid of lots of other issues. If there is bad housing then you will also get drug problems, mental health problems, unemployment, crime, and anti-social behavior."

Rowntree refers to himself as an activist rather than a politician, and he is currently studying to become a lawyer. He describes the unglamorous work of campaigning, "If you knock on enough doors, then you will find a lot of local issues that people have not been able to solve, and you do your best to bring them some kind of resolution." According to Rowntree, he doesn't get recognized as a member of Blur during his door-to-door campaigning, which must be one of the benefits of sitting behind a drum kit onstage.

Of the important matter of the Blur reunion's future, Rowntree says, "That's an open question that we haven't really talked about yet. We've all got stuff to do up until the summer of next year. So there was no possibility of us just starting the band up again, or even any point of saying what's next."

Rowntree also claims that he'd never ask the other members of Blur to campaign for him: "If people are interested and offer, then I would gratefully take them up, but it is not for everybody."